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Conservation Education Center Hosts Open House

Contact: Mike Greife
WARRENSBURG - 4/05/2006 -
UCM's Conservation Education Center, located at the university's Prussing Research Farm, invites the public to learn more about the center's shooting range during an open house and membership drive Sunday, April 23.

Memberships and Leagues Available

Visitors are invited to tour the facility two miles east of Warrensburg on East Division Road from 2 - 6 p.m. During the open house, the public may use the shooting range at one-half price, and range memberships will be available at a 10 percent discount. Visitors also may pre-register for weekday and weekend trap and skeet shooting leagues. Free food will be served.

Trap and Skeet Ranges Open to the Public

The range offers three trap shooting ranges and one skeet shooting range, which are available to the public during range operating hours from 1- 6 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. Saturday, and 1- 6 p.m. Sunday, with plans underway to expand the range hours beginning in April. The range also hosts the area FFA Trap Shooting League and the spring high school trap shoot. Information regarding range fees and league participation is available on the shooting range web site, www.ucmo.edu/shootingsports.

New Management Specialist Joins Staff

Paige Patterson, who recently joined UCM's Department of Agriculture as manager of the shooting range, also will be available to greet visitors and answer questions about the facility and the activities it offers.

A 1999 graduate of UCM with a bachelor's degree in agriculture technology, Patterson currently is completing a master’s degree in technology and occupational education, specializing in agriculture education. She is a member of the National Shooting Sports Association and the National Skeet Shooting Association, and she currently is involved in trap and skeet shooting.

Conservation Grant Makes Facility Possible

Completed in the summer of 2005, the UCM Conservation Education Center was made possible with a $300,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation. The cooperative project between the Missouri Department of Conservation and UCM provides educational opportunities for UCM students and a location where landowners and others can learn how production agriculture and conservation areas can coexist. The center also will host the 2006 Missouri Department of Conservation Hunter Education classes for Johnson County.

For More Information

For more information on the Conservation Education Center, contact the UCM Department of Agriculture at 660-543-4240.